As the recession continues to linger, the Bruce Museum is relying on its own collections and those of residents instead of depending on expensive loaned pieces of art to bring in the crowds, according to the museum's executive director.

"That's the way we make ends meet here, by going down to the basement or the living room of our neighbors," said Peter Sutton. "It takes some creativity to run a nonprofit these days."

Those "living rooms" as Sutton said, contain some of the world's best art as Greenwich and the surrounding towns have one of the highest, if not the highest, concentration of high-end private collectors in the world, he said.

One of the highlights of this approach will be a display of works by American photographer Cindy Sherman. Many of her works are in the hands of nearby private collectors and it enabled the museum to host an exhibit that should bring national and international attention.

Museums using their own exhibits instead of those from foreign museums and collectors is a trend across the country said Dewey Blanton, senior manager for media relations at the Washington-based American Association of Museums.

"That's definitely true ... particularly museums that are using their permanent collections in a novel and new ways," he said.

Some museums, like the Allentown Art Museum, in Pennsylavania, and the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, in Memphis, exchanged pieces from their permanent collections, he said.

The Dixon has a strong collection of Impressionist Art while the Allentown Museum has Renaissance works, Blanton said.

The cost-saving measure also allowed the museum to give their patrons a chance to view Impressionist works they wouldn't have seen ordinarily, according to Jacqueline M. Atkins, chief curator at the Allentown Art Museum.

"Traveling exhibits can be very expensive, and while this wasn't a minimal cost, it was a way for us to give something interesting to our patrons," she said.

The Bruce Museum wrestled with controlling its costs as the recession ate into its revenue last year, Sutton said.

Financial support plunged as businesses, especially banks, cut back their support, said Sutton.

He's seeing some signs that may slowly be reversing.

"Corporate underwriting is coming back in a very tentative way," he said.

Last year the museum went through several stages of belt-tightening, including a hiring freeze, salary cuts and finally laying off five full-time employees, he said.

It was a grim time said Sutton, but there was some good news this year as the salary cuts -- 10 percent for senior staff and five percent for junior staff -- were reversed on July 1. Increased corporate support allowed the museum to reverse the cuts, he said.

Attendance at the museum has shown a decline, Sutton said. Attendance fell to 66,283 last year, down from 70,035 the year before, according to the museum.

Despite the decline, Sutton remains confident about the museum's future.

"We will do fine," he said. "It has been a struggle but we do have a very strong community."

-- Staff Writer Frank MacEachern can be reached at frank.maceachern@scni.com or 203-625-4434.